Friday, December 12, 2008

Last week saw three state champions crowned, and three more will be crowned by the end of this weekend. Bentonville, Lake Hamilton, and Pulaski Academy won the 7A, 6A, and 5A titles, respectively. The 3A champ will be decided tonight, while 2A and 4A will battle it out tomorrow.

7ABentonville jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they used a 17-0 halftime lead to catapult them to a 32-20 victory over Fort Smith Southside and their first state title under Head Coach Barry Lunney.

6AEl Dorado struck first, but Lake Hamilton would score on 5 of their first 6 possessions to take a commanding 35-14 lead early in the second half. The Wildcats would claw back to cut it within 7 at 35-28 before Lake Hamilton would tack on a final touchdown for the 42-28 victory. It was Lake Hamilton's first state championship since 1992.

5APulaski Academy showed in the first half why their offense was the number one yardage offense in the country by gaining over 300 yards and a 35-12 halftime advantage. West Helena showed in the second half why they had the top defense in the state as they held the Bruins scoreless and under 100 yards. It wasn't quite enough as the Cougars cut it to 35-32 before the Bruins would run out the final 5:18 to end the game. This was Pulaski Academy's 2nd state title with their first coming in 2003 in the AAA classification (current 4A).

4AShiloh Christian has been untested in 4A competition this season, but they will take on what is likely the fastest team they have seen since they defeated Warren in the 2005 quarterfinals, the Dollarway Cardinals. Shiloh's strength is on their offensive and defensive line. Dollarway's keys will be to get pressure and control the line of scrimmage on defense, and they must use their speed on offense with sweeps, screens, and quick hitters. They will also need to stretch the Shiloh secondary by using their speed and throwing deep. Shiloh will struggle early, but we think they come out on top. PREDICTION: Shiloh 35, Dollarway 22.

3AFountain Lake boasts the seventh best rushing offense in the country and the ninth best scoring offense in the country, and they lead the state in both categories. Few teams have held them down with the one exception being Prescott, who lost to the Cobras in the quarterfinals, 22-21. Fountain Lake scored 88 points against 5A Lakeside earlier in the season. State Championship games are old hats for Charleston as they will play in their 3rd title game in 4 years. They are 0-for-2 thus far, and that trend will continue if they can't find a way to slow down Fountain Lake's Wing-T attack. Charleston has a great defense, but it won't be enough to charm the Cobras. PREDICTION: Fountain Lake 42, Charleston 28.

2AIn 2A, it's Junction City, then it's everybody else. Des Arc looks to flex their muscles against the pre-season and all-season number one team, Junction City. Des Arc can score points, but the question will be how much they can hold back the Dragon offense. PREDICTION: Junction City 49, Des Arc 28.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Playoff Week 3 was a wild one. All we can think to say is "WOW!" Two three-time defending state champions were eliminated in their quest for a fourth straight title. Two of the semi-final games were decided by an 8-7 score. What? The FINAL score was 8-7 in two different semi-final games. We thought that this was 2008 not 1908. In any case, here is a summary of last Friday's action.

Friday, November 28, 2008

It is Thanksgiving weekend, so that means the Arkansas state football playoffs are dwindling down. The upper three division each have 4 teams remaining while the lower divisions have an elite 8. It also means that football weather will be in vogue all across the state tonight. We hope that you take the time to go out and shiver some of those extra calories away at a playoff game near you.

7A Playoffs

The 7A playoffs have become, as expected by many, the 7A West Invitational. The only team remaining from the 7A Central is Russellville (traditionally a Western team).

Russellville @ Bentonville: Bentonville will continue to play fundamentally sound football and limit their turnovers. The Tigers are too much for the Cyclones. Prediction: Bentonville 20, Russellville 7.

Har-Ber @ FS Southside: The only teams Har-Ber has stumbled against are those from Ft. Smith. This one will be a close with Har-Ber finally moving past a team from the river valley. Prediction: Har-Ber 31, Southside 27

6A Playoffs

As you would expect, the 6A semi-finalists contain the "usual suspects" as well as a surprise team in Watson Chapel. These games should be very entertaining tonight.

Lake Hamilton @ West Memphis: Lake Hamilton has had a dominant offense all year, but their defense has struggled. West Memphis is the class of 6A, and they roll to the finals again. Prediction: West Memphis 52, Lake Hamilton 35

All four #1 seeds emerged from the early playoff rounds. The remaining teams all know how to put points on the board, so we should see some real slugfests in the 5A division tonight.

Pulaski Academy @ Greenwood: The last 2 meetings between these two teams have gone to the Bulldogs in high scoring playoff classics. PA's Bruins reverse those last outcomes with a score that will be eerily familiar. Prediction: PA 57, Greenwood 56.

West Helena @ Monticello: Monticello should be able to score and control the clock. However, West Helena will be too much for the Billies. Prediction: West Helena 42, Monticello 31.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Har-Ber at Cabot - PREDICTION: Cabot 28, Har-Ber 24ACTUAL SCORE: Har-Ber 21, Cabot 17Cabot had the ball on Har-Ber's 5-yard line late in the game, but couldn't punch it in.

Catholic at Southside - PREDICTION: Southside 14, Catholic 7ACTUAL SCORE: Southside 28, Catholic 17The game was not this close. Southside led 28-3 late in the game.

Bryant at Bentonville - PREDICTION: Bentonville 28, Bryant 14ACTUAL SCORE: Bentonville 34, Bryant 14Bryant led 14-7 before Bentonville ran back a kickoff for a touchdown for a 14-14 halftime score. It was all Tigers in the 2nd half.

Texarkana at West Memphis - PREDICTION: West Memphis 42, Texarkana 14.ACTUAL SCORE: West Memphis 33, Texarkana 7West Memphis took a 14-7 halftime lead, but never let it get close in the 2nd half to end Texarkana's hope for a three-peat.

Magnolia at Monticello - PREDICTION: Monticello 35, Magnolia 21ACTUAL SCORE: Monticello 35, Magnolia 16Magnolia led 16-14 before Monticello took a 21-16 halftime lead and scored the only two touchdowns of the second half.

Siloam Springs at West Helena - PREDICTION: West Helena 63, Siloam Springs 21ACTUAL SCORE: West Helena 38, Siloam Springs 14Siloam was able to score early and stave off West Helena for most of the first quarter. However, their 7-0 lead dissipated and then disappeared early in the 2nd quarter and the Cougars would take a 20-7 halftime lead before extending it to 38-7 in the 4th.Batesville at Greenwood - PREDICTION: Batesville 28, Greenwood 27ACTUAL SCORE: Greenwood 24, Batesville 20The game lived up to its billing as the game of the week. Greenwood drove down with a little over two minutes left to take the lead. Batesville ran out of time as they had driven to Greenwood's 35 before heaving one last hope to the endzone as time expired.

Beebe at Pulaski Academy - PREDICTION: PA 42, Beebe 21ACTUAL SCORE: PA 63, Beebe 21Pulaski Academy scored on all eight possessions and ran back a fumble for a touchdown. The Bruins led 42-7 at half to envoke the mercy rule for the entire second half. Beebe had almost 400 yards of offense in the loss but turned the ball over 5 times (4 fumbles).

Friday, November 21, 2008

Har-Ber at Cabot - Cabot has had one of its best seasons since 2001 and have high hopes to make a bid for the state title in three weeks. Har-Ber is having another great season suffering only two losses to the Ft. Smith School District. We like Cabot in this game, but I'm not sure their defense is ready to stop Har-Ber's spread attack. PREDICTION: Cabot 28, Har-Ber 24Catholic at Southside - This is a rematch of week 1 in which the Rebels took down the Rockets, 22-14. We expect another good game this week as both teams look to be playing their best football. PREDICTION: Southside 14, Catholic 7

Bryant at Bentonville - Bryant shocked the state last week by defeating Springdale with a fourth-string quarterback. We believe this will be a good game, but Bentonville will be too much for the Hornets. PREDICTION: Bentonville 28, Bryant 14

Northside at Russellville - Northside may have one of the best offenses in 7A as they will matchup against a stout Cyclone defense. Russellville knows what its like to play in tight games as 5 of their 9 wins have been by a touchdown or less. Northside will not let this one get that close. PREDICTION: Northside 35, Russellville 14

6A Playoffs

Texarkana at West Memphis - The two-time defending champion is coming to what looks like the class of 6A, West Memphis. The last two years this would have been a great game, but we don't think so this year. PREDICTION: West Memphis 42, Texarkana 14.Jacksonville at Lake Hamilton - Lake Hamilton has been known to give up a lot of points on occasion; however, they can score a lot of points as well. This one should be over early. PREDICTION: Lake Hamilton 49, Jacksonville 13Watson Chapel at Pine Bluff - Pine Bluff won the earlier meeting between these conference foes, 48-0. This one should be closer. PREDICTION: Pine Bluff 49, Watson Chapel 7El Dorado at Jonesboro - Jonesboro is much improved under first year head coach Randy Coleman. El Dorado has big wins this season over Texarkana and Pine Bluff, but just squeaked out a one-point decision over Marion last week. PREDICTION: El Dorado 28, Jonesboro 27

5A Playoffs

Magnolia at Monticello - After early conference losses to Pulaski Academy and Lakeside, Magnolia has reeled off six straight including an overtime win over Central Arkansas Christian last week. Monticello rolled through the 5A SE undefeated and thumped Wynne last week. We like for Magnolia to keep it close until the end. PREDICTION: Monticello 35, Magnolia 21Siloam Springs at West Helena - Siloam Springs just thought they saw speed last year at Camden-Fairview. Unfortunately for them, they'll have to travel almost six hours to see what may be the overall fastest team ever in Arkansas high school football. PREDICTION: West Helena 63, Siloam Springs 21Batesville at Greenwood - This will probably be the best game to watch as it pits two of the best head coaches in the state against each other, Rick Jones of Greenwood and Dave King of Batesville. We really like Batesville's defense against the least potent offense that Rick Jones has had as the leader Bulldogs. However, Batesville is going to have to put up some big numbers on the offensive side of the ball to come our of Smith Robinson Stadium with a ticket to the third round. PREDICTION: Batesville 28, Greenwood 27Beebe at Pulaski Academy - Contrasting styles would be an understatement. Beebe's Dead-T versus Pulaski Academy's one-back and no-back spread. The result of this game hinges on Bruin defense's ability to not allow Beebe to have long drives and get a couple of early stops. PA's going to score, but will they be able to get the ball enough? We say yes. PREDICTION: PA 42, Beebe 21

Friday, November 14, 2008

Today we are previewing the 1st round of the state playoffs for the top 3 classifications. There will be plenty of excitement to go around, but half the teams will be preparing for basketball season come Saturday morning.

7A:With the first two seeds from the conferences taking a BYE, there are four games with matchups between the 4 and 5 seeds and the 3 and 6 seeds.

4W Har-Ber versus 5C North Little Rock may be a better game than many think. Har-Ber is known as an offensive team, but have really stepped it up on defense the last two weeks by surrendering 13 points combined to Fayetteville and Bentonville. North Little Rock can play some defense, but have been anemic at times this year with the football. Look for them to keep it close, but for Har-Ber to come away with a two touchdown advantage. PREDICTION: Har-Ber 21, North Little Rock 7

3C Catholic versus 6W Fayetteville is probably the most intriguing matchup in 7A. Coming out of the shute, Fayetteville looked like they may be the team to beat after their 2-0 start. However, four straight losses and a 5-5 record shows how vulnerable this team can be. Catholic is 0-2 versus West teams this year, but those losses were by a touchdown or less to the Fort Smith schools. PREDICTION: Catholic 24, Fayetteville 20

4W Springdale versus 5C Bryant will probably not be a game you would want to go see. It's not that Springdale is that great, but moreso that Bryant is lost. They've salvaged a season to this point that was lost when their senior quarterback tore his ACL in the spring. Unfortunately, that's not the only bad news Bryant has had to deal with this year. PREDICTION: Springdale 35, Bryant 7.

3W Northside versus 6C Van Buren is a rematch of a 37-34 Northside victory in week 2. We don't think it will be that close this time. PREDICTION: Northside 38, Van Buren 14.

6A:One seeds West Memphis and Pine Bluff and two seeds Jonesboro and Lake Hamilton have byes into the second round.

Parkview at Arkansas HighParkview just won't go away. This is a game that you just feel like Texarkana will be able to control, but who isn't impressed with Coach Hardiman and the Patriots this year? We're going with the upset against our better senses. PREDICTION: Parkview 20, Texarkana 14

Watson Chapel at Mountain HomeWatson Chapel may be the better team, but they may not have any legs after their trip to Mountain Hope. I do think they will get them back by halftime and win. PREDICTION: Watson Chapel 28, Mountain Home 21.

Marion at El DoradoEl Dorado tied for 1st place but received the 3-seed. That's okay, though, because Marion may be just as good as a BYE for them. PREDICTION: El Dorado 37, Marion 6.

5ATwo games jump out at us as good first round matchups: Central Arkansas Christian at Magnolia and Alma at Pulaski Academy.

3W CAC at 2SW MagnoliaThese two teams have been heading in opposite directions in recent weeks. After at huge win at Harrison, CAC has dropped two of four with those two wins being a battle against non-playoff teams Vilonia and Morrilton. After losing their first two conference games, Magnolia has been rolling with five straight including a convincing victory over Little Rock Christian. PREDICTION: Magnolia 28, CAC 14

4W Alma at 1SW PAAlma was 5 yards away from a conference championship. Instead, they are traveling to PA with a 4-seed. PA has the number one offense in the nation, and will once again be tested by a West team. Last time PA played a West opponent in the first round, Siloam Springs. PA had the mercy rule by half. Despite what others think, we don't think this will be close. PREDICTION: PA 49, Alma 14.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Week 10 in an Arkansas high school football season is always a strange time. We feel like the teams that are playing tonight divide fairly equally into three categories.

For the top 1/3 of the teams, it is a final dressed rehearsal for a playoff run that they hope will end in a state title. These are the team that have those top one or two playoff seeds locked up.

For the middle 1/3 of the teams, this week is stressful because they are either fighting for their playoff life or trying avoid the top seeds in their first playoff round by improving their place in the bracket. If you attend one these games, these teams tend to play with lots of emotion as their senior struggle to extend their careers by at least one more week.

The bottom 1/3 of the teams usually have nothing on the line except pride in how the senior leaders will be sent out. The seniors will remember this moment because most (>90%) will play competitive football for the last time tonight. Again, emotions run high in these games simply because the career ends in just 48 short minutes of game clock.

Our selected games this week don't have any from the bottom 1/3. However, if you want to share either your thoughts on any of those games, please send us some Comments.

Here are some games that we don't think you want to miss if you can make it out tonight (the rankings below are the Hootens.com Rankings for Week 10):

#1 Bentonville @ #4 Har-Ber. Bentonville is trying to remain the lone remaining unbeaten in the 7A classification. This will be a 7A West slugfest.

#2 FS Northside @ #3 FS Southside. This year's "Battle of Rogers Avenue" could be another classic in this high spirited rivalry.

Springdale @ Rogers. The loser in this 7A West battle will watch the playoffs while cleaning and storing the equipment until next summer.

#6 Russellville @ #5 Cabot. The winner of this showdown will have the #1 seed from the 7A Central

#1 West Helena @ #3 Batesville. The winner claims the 5A East conference crown and a coveted #1 seed in the playoffs.

Green County Tech @ Paragould. A GCT win puts the Eagles in the playoffs and avenges a Week 1 drubbing. A Paragould win would be bittersweet because the season would be over, but it would prevent their rivals from a historic playoff berth.

Little Rock Christian @ #2 Pulaski Academy. The winner takes home the 5A Southwest and a #1 playoff seed. LRC is also fighting to avoid a #3 playoff seed that happens if they lose (Magnolia defeated Hope last night).

As you can see, plenty of great matchups in Week 10. Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

We wanted to look back to see how the three games we chose ended up going last Friday night.

Har-Ber looked more and more like a team that can make a deep run into the playoffs as they defeated Fayetteville 28-7. Since the first game of the season when Fayetteville looked dominant, they have not found a rhythm that you would expect from a title contender.

It looks like Greenwood really is hitting playoff form as they defeated CAC 31-17. The question for the Bulldogs starting the year was how to replace Tyler Wilson at QB. As the playoffs approach, it looks like they have at least found some offensive spark.

The Mena-Waldron contest was a high scoring affair. The Bearcats pulled out a 41-28 victory over the visitors from Waldron. This is likely the last mention of either of these two on this site until this spring when we find if they will be playing in any 7-on-7 leagues or tournaments.

Glancing through the Fearless Friday scoreboard, these other games caught our attention:

Arkansas Baptist 41, Bauxite 40

Bald Knob 40, Marianna Lee 38

DeQueen 49, Arkadelphia 35

McCrory 50, Rector 36

Pulaski Academy 56, Hope 42

Let us know if we missed a good game. We welcome all comments/suggestions. Have a good week!

Friday, October 31, 2008

As we looked at this week's match-ups, we found some games that jumped out at us. The ones that always jump off the page are the games with playoff seeding implications or teams fighting for survival. You will see a couple of those in our selections, but this week we dug deep to find an intriguing game with none of that. Here are our picks for Week 9 games to watch (the rankings below are the Hootens.com Rankings for Week 9):

#4 Har-Ber at #9 Fayetteville. The Wildcats will attempt to correct some of the special team problems that led to the loss to FS Southside last week. The defending 7A state champion Purple Bulldogs of Fayetteville are looking to get on a roll before the playoffs start in 2 weeks. We expect to see a lot of points in Fayetteville this Halloween.

#8 Central Arkansas Christian at #4 Greenwood. This is the time of year when Greenwood starts priming for its playoff run. The three-time defending 5A state champion is trying to shore up its playoff seed. The CAC Mustangs are looking to redeem themselves after falling short in the last big time match-up with Siloam Springs (Week 7). We think those in the Arkansas River Valley are in for an intriguing game tonight.

Waldron at Mena. Why this game? Well, this match-up features 2 teams that have shown a complete inability to stop any offense that they have seen. In addition, both teams have put up quite a few points each week. So, this game is likely to be a high scoring affair between 2 mediocre teams. No one in the stands will mention playoffs and Waldron or Mena in the same sentence, but the offenses on the field will likely make this an entertaining game.

We'll end this week a little different. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Be sure to take plenty of candy for the trick-or-treaters that you will meet on the way to a high school football game.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

As we scanned the schedule for our shootout this week, we noticed that this week seems to have several mismatches. Wading through the schedule, we decided on two picks for our Week 7 shootout predictions.

If you are in the Ft. Smith area, you probably want to pack a lunch and head out to the game between Springdale and Northside. Springdale put up 52 points last week, but still lost to #2 Ft. Smith Southside by 3. This week they will attempt to take down the #3 Grizzlies. There should be plenty of offense to keep the blood flowing despite the cooler temperatures.

If you are in Central Arkansas this weekend, you might want to catch the Siloam Springs Panthers playing at Central Arkansas Christian. The game is for sole possession of 1st placed with only 3 games to play in conference. Both teams have shown the ability to put points on the board and both are ranked in the top 10 by Hootens.com. This game has the potential to be a great one.

As we say every week, have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Well, the rumors were true as NFL films were present at the Pulaski Academy home game versus Camden-Fairview. After a day of interviewing a few players and coaches, the crew filmed at least the fourth downs by Pulaski Academy (they were 4 out of 6) as well as the drop-kicks that the Bruins tried for their first two kickoffs. They also had Head Coach Kevin Kelley mic'd up on the sidelines. The piece is supposed to air in December.

As for the game itself, Pulaski Academy won 41-7. Although it may seem like a one-sided affair, the Bruins held the Cardinals out of the endzone three possessions inside the 6-yard line. So the normally explosive offense of PA was overshadowed by the play of the defense that always seems to receive a bad reputation.

In the other contest that we attended, the results were as expected as the Nashville Scrappers took a 44-0 first half lead on their way to a 57-14 victory.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Well, a persistent rumor is going around about an exciting event that is supposed to happen tonight in Arkansas high school football. Perhaps, you have heard it. The rumor is that NFL films is sending a crew to Little Rock to film Pulaski Academy's home game against Camden Fairview. While this game is likely to be a great football game, that is not the reason for the national attention. The network is rumored to be interested in documenting the "No Punt" philosophy of PA's head coach, Kevin Kelley.

For those of you who don't know, Coach Kelley despises the idea of giving up the football by punting, so it is my opinion that he went looking for an excuse not to do it. He found it in research produced in an unlikely place, the economics department at the University of California-Berkeley. Professor David Romer started looking at whether or not "managers" at business firms optimize by examining the behavior of NFL head coach decisions on 4th down. He published his results in the Journal of Political Economy in August 2006. For those of you who don't want to read the entire paper, here's a summary:

Unless your defense is as good at stopping the opponents as the Baltimore Ravens during the best years, then you score more points by going for it on "almost" all 4th down plays.

The opposing team does NOT score any more points by going for it on those 4th down plays.

Coaches punt for the short term goal of shifting the responsibility for the opposing score from his decision to go for it to the defense's inability to stop the offense. This is a shell game to avoid those annoying post-game questions about the 4th down "failures".

You INCREASE your chance of winning by going for it on "almost" all 4th down especially if you have a prolific offense and an average to less than average defense.

I am sold on Coach Kelley's philosophy, but all 4th downs are not equivalent. I think that this is a small flaw in his approach. However, he is getting paid for to make those decisions, not me. In any case, we feel that the rumor itself makes this game our Shootout of the Week for Week 5. Can anyone out there confirm or deny the validity?

One of us will be there at the PA-Camden Fairview match-up while the other gets the pleasure of watching the 3-time defending state champion Nashville Scrappers travel to Mena (a "homecoming" of sorts). We anticipate a big win by Scrappers in Bearcat Stadium tonight. Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

We selected the "Battle for Springdale" as our Shootout of the Week, and we were not disappointed with the game that we watched. Last night, Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium was packed. To me, it seemed that entire town of Springdale was in the stadium. The intensity that we predicted between the Har-Ber Wildcats and Springdale Bulldogs was definitely evident from the opening kickoff. The game was deadlocked at 7 at recess. The Wildcats took over midway through the 3rd quarter behind the running of Derek Brinker, and went on to win 20-14.

The game wasn't the high scoring shootout that we anticipated, but it was a very hard fought entertaining high school football game. Week 4 of this season had some close games, but most of the high scoring games weren't close. Here are the teams that got their offenses (scoring 50+ ponts) kicked into high gear for the start of conference play:

Magnet Cove 51, Bauxite 35

Shiloh Christian 65, Berryville 0

Fountain Lake 56, Centerpoint 0

Spring Hill 50, Foreman 26

Green County Tech 53, Forrest City 44

Junction City 70, Norphlet 0

West Memphis 50, Little Rock Hall 0

Pulaski Academy 63, Magnolia 25

Ola 60, Little Rock Lutheran 19

Fort Smith Northside 59, Rogers Heritage 38

Horatio 51, Quitman 24

Lake Hamilton 55, Sheridan 21

Stuttgart 62, Batesville Southside 12

West Helena 62, Paragould 7

Again, please tell us about any great games we should pay attention to next week or that we missed this week.

Friday, September 26, 2008

We are just going to do a quick hitter for this first Friday of conference. We are selecting the "Battle for Springdale" as our pick for the Shootout of the Week.

While this is a very new rivalry to the state due to the newcomer status of Har-Ber, we believe all athletic events that involve these two teams will quickly have an intensity similar to long-time rivals.

Har-Ber is the new kid on the block, but the Wildcats are playing well. We look for them to come away with a 10 point victory tonight.

Let us know your game of the week. Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

We wanted to take a look at our predictions from last Friday morning. We made four predictions related to the 2 games that we planned to attend. For the record, 25% accuracy isn't going to light up Vegas, but we don't gamble anyway.

1. Both games will have a total points number of 70 or higher.

The SC/GW game had a total 57 points while the PA/LH game featured 98 points. Are we allowed to shift the points around? In all seriousness, Greenwood played fairly sloppy, putting the ball on the ground several times. It prevented the Bulldogs from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm.

2. Greenwood will win by a margin of 14 or greater.

Shiloh Christian 37, Greenwood 20. We have to say that we were more than a little surprised by this result. SC looked solid and GW didn't. Hats off to the Saints for proving that we don't know much.

3. Pulaski Academy's offense will finally find its stride.

I don't think there is any doubt on this one. The Bruins put up over 600 yards of total offense and scored 63 points.

4. Pulaski Academy will escape with a 3 point win over the Wolves.

Pulaski Academy 63, Lake Hamilton 35. We did get the winner of the game, but we don't think that anyone would have predicted this much of a differential. The Bruins got offensive momentum and just never let up.

In all honesty, we are really better than 25%, but only one prediction was 100% accurate. Give us your picks in the comments and we will see how well you do.

In Case You Missed It:There were some incredible scores in Week 3. Here is a quick sample of them:

Fountain Lake 88, Hot Springs Lakeside 66

Pine Bluff 64, Warren 40

Lonoke 41, Central Arkansas Christian 38

Nashville 58, Liberty-Eylau (TX) 35

Osceola 70, Rivercrest 36

Earle 70, Hughes 6

Again, please tell us about any great games we should pay attention to as conference play starts for almost everyone this week (or any great game that we missed this week).

Friday, September 19, 2008

This week most teams are getting their final tuneups done before conference play begins next week. So, we will again be at different games. The two games that we will watch tonight are match-ups of teams that we believe will make deep runs into the state playoffs this fall. All four teams in these two games are currently ranked in the top 10 in their classification by Hootens.com.

In Northwest Arkansas, the Shiloh Christian Saints will host the Greenwood Bulldogs. The 'Dogs are the 3-time defending state champion while the Saints are perennially found close the championship round of the state playoffs. We feel that this game will have a ton of offensive fireworks by both of these heavyweights.

In the Hot Springs area, the Pulaski Academy Bruins will travel to Percy to take on the Lake Hamilton Wolves. This match-up features two of the top senior quarterbacks in the state, PA's Spencer Keith and LH's Phillip Butterfield. Again, a lot of offense will be on display as these two teams look to give future conference foes a bunch of threats to think about in the coming weeks.

Our Predictions For These Games

Both games will have a total points number of 70 or higher.

Greenwood will win by a margin of 14 or greater.

Pulaski Academy's offense will finally find its stride.

Pulaski Academy will escape with a 3 point win over the Wolves.

As we say every week this time of year: Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Friday, September 12, 2008

We are always on the lookout for good high school football games, and we will again be at games in different parts of the state. Here are some games that we think you might enjoy if you are looking for something to do tonight.

We believe the games in red have a chance to see a total of 80 points between the two teams. The game in green is our prediction for the highest scoring game of the week. Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Well, it was a typical busy Friday in Arkansas high school football last night. Our picks for the shootouts of the week gave us a few surprises. The results are below. The surprise results (based on competitiveness) are in BLUE:

Evangel Christian (LA) 47, Shiloh Christian 9

North Little Rock 17, Texarkana 0

Blytheville 28, Osceola 13

West Helena 46, Pulaski Academy 29

Rison 32, Fordyce 18

Warren 54, Watson Chapel 16

Hot Springs Lakeside 28, White Hall 23

Nashville 48, Hope 0

Texarkana (TX) 30, Lake Hamilton 22

Pine Bluff 28, Fort Smith Northside 22

Springdale Har-Ber 45, Greenwood 15

Fayetteville 35, Little Rock Central 0

Jefferson City (MO) 45, Springdale 21

So, I am sure you asking which great games did we leave out of those to watch. Glancing at the scoreboards, here are a few that wish we could have witnessed live:

Walnut Ridge 47, Cave City 36 (Highest scoring game of Week 1)

El Dorado 31, Camden Fairview 27

Prairie Grove 38, Lavaca 32

Silvan Hills 25, Malvern 20

Magnet Cove 26, Mount Ida 21

Batesville Southside 34, Mountain Home 29

Dover 29, Paris 28

Riverview 35, Marked Tree 32

As you can see, there were some early season nailbiters. Please tell us about any great games we should pay attention to next week or that we missed this week.

Friday, September 5, 2008

We are always on the lookout for good high school football games, and we will be at games in opposite ends of the state tonight. In an effort to support high school football around the state, here are some games that we think you might enjoy even if you don't have a "dog in the fight."

We believe the games in red have a chance to see a total of 80 points between the two teams. The game in green is our prediction for the highest scoring game of the week. Have a great weekend! Hopefully, football will be part of it.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Well, it has been over 8 months since the last college game. The wait for real football (not spring games, recruiting, or NFL exhibition games) is over. I am very excited about it. College football is my favorite sport these days (once this was major league baseball). Sadly, the two teams that I am interested in watching are playing "directional" schools, so they will not be on television.

I gave you my reasons for hating soccer last week, so this week I will give you my reasons for loving college football.

Debates -- The system of determining a champion in college football's highest classification is so screwed up that it actually encourages debates about "Mythical National Champions". For example, invite an Alabama and Arkansas fan to your next party and ask them who won the 1964 National Championship. I bet they have different answers. Arkansas's argument is so legitimate that the AP changed their rules after that season.

Teams You Love To Hate -- To about half of the population of college football fans, the Fighting Irish are a symbol of all that is wrong with our country (entitlement, elitist, etc.) while the other half believes that Notre Dame is the best team on the planet. My list of teams that I want to see lose every Saturday includes Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami, Oklahoma and Texas. I would likely throw a big party if all were to lose on the same day.

Irrational Fans -- These are the guys that lurk on message boards for the faintest hint that a 17-year old from Timbuktu who runs a 4.3 40-yard dash has included their school in his final three. It is kind of sad that their weekends can be ruined because the whims of a teenager didn't include attending their favorite school. These irrational fans include my dad who begins EVERY season with the expectation that the Razorbacks will lose at most 2 games because, "The Hogs are good, but you know how stout the SEC is. You KNOW that they would win any other conference."

Rivalries -- Michigan/OSU, USC/Notre Dame, Texas/Texas A&M (the BEST ONE!), etc. Sure, I know the Yankees and Red Sox don't like each other, but you will see the players that play for both teams during their career. The same goes for the Bears and Packers. In college football, they play 3 hours for 365 days of bragging rights that can't be escaped until the next clash with that rival. You will find strange and humiliating wagers associated with these games.

So, if you are wondering my plans for weekends over the next few months, I will be trying to find someway to watch football on Saturdays. If fate is kind to me, the Aggies will be on TV. If not, I will be re-living the last two Fridays after Thanksgiving. I have bragging rights until that day. That's when they go up for grabs in the Lonestar Showdown.

Four teams from Arkansas (Shiloh Christian, Springdale, Springdale Har-Ber, and Lake Hamilton) competed in the Select 7-on-7 National Championship tournament.

Springdale Har-Ber brought the National Championship back to the Natural State once again.

We realize that the focus will now shift to "real" football, but we will have some things to check out during the high school season. Here is what we plan to provide you until 7-on-7 returns next summer:

More installments in the "Why 7-on-7?" series.

A new "Coaches Corner" section where we discuss the teaching opportunities presented during these 7-on-7 competitions.

In our "Shootout of the Week" series, we will pick the game that we feel will be highest scoring high school football game.

So, we suggest that if you want to know when we put something new up, use the "Subscribe" button below the "Sponsored Links" to the left. If you have never used an RSS feed reader, the Google reader is pretty awesome. Let us know in the comments (or at ArkansasFootballBloggers@gmail.com) if you need an invitation for a Google account.

We wanted to take a couple of seconds to thank all of you that stopped by over the past three months. Here is how we have grown since starting back in May:

May 2008: 1,570 page views

June 2008: 3,655 page views

July 2008: 5,193 page views

Finally, if you have ideas, suggestions, or comments, PLEASE let us know in the comments or through our email (ArkansasFootballBloggers@gmail.com). We want to provide you with information that you want when you stop by to catch up on Arkansas football (7-on-7 or otherwise). Coaches and players, as the next season approaches, send us your schedules, tournament plans, and players to watch. We will get them posted so that as many people as possible can make it to your events and increase the exposure for your outstanding players to a wider audience. Again, THANK YOU! for a great summer of 2008 season.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Springdale Har-Ber defeated McGill Toolen Catholic (Mobile, AL) to claim the Select 7-on-7 National Championship on Saturday afternoon. Har-Ber was the 10th seed after pool play, but rolled through the tournament. They won the winner's bracket, lost to McGill in the finals, but beat them in the if necessary game. We'll have more details on the Wildcats National Championship as well as how the other Arkansas teams fared in Hoover.

Friday, July 25, 2008

The Har-Ber Wildcats entered the Select 7-on-7 National Championship Tournament on Friday evening as the highest seeded team from Arkansas (10th). They have played like that as well as they are the only Arkansas team that remains in the winner's bracket.

Har-Ber defeated 23rd seed Captain Shreve (Shreveport, LA) 35-17 in the first round of the 32-team double elimination tournament. Many Arkansans may be familiar with Captain Shreve as they have been a fixture at the Shootout of the South in Little Rock until this year. In the second round, Har-Ber took out nationally known perennial power Evangel Christian (Shreveport, LA) in a nail-biter, 31-30.

The Wildcats now sit in the final eight of the winners bracket with a good draw as they are poised to take on 18th seed Jefferson County, who upset 2nd seeded Olive Branch 23-20. That game is slated for a 9:00 AM start. If they win, they will play the winner of 6th seed Arlington-Lamar (TX) and 3rd seed McGill-Toolen (AL), who defeated Lake Hamilton 30-21 in the second round. That game will be at 10:00 AM. Other schools left in the winners bracket include 4th seed and host school Hoover (AL), 5th seed Thomas Jefferson (PA), 9th seed Spain Park (AL) and 16th seeded Memphis University School, who upset #1 seed Prattville (AL) in the second round.

28th seeded Springdale lost their opening round game to Thomas Jefferson, 31-24. They will face Mt. Crest (UT) in the loser's bracket beginning at 8:00 Saturday morning.

Lake Hamilton drew the 19th seed by their record in pool play and narrowly defeated 14th seed Tuscaloosa County (AL) 30-29 before losing to McGill-Toolen in the second round. They will play the winner of Springdale and 21st seeded Mt. Crest (UT) in the loser's bracket at 8:30 AM.

Shiloh Christian played their way to the 22 seed in pool play and dropped their first game to Flowery Branch (GA) 31-20. They will face off against 27th seeded Pelham (AL) at 8:00 AM. If they win, they will play 7th seeded Evangel Christian at 8:30 AM. The irony is that these two teams will face off this fall in a regionally televised game in Week 1 of the regular season on September 5.

There are few things more brutal than playing your way through a loser's bracket after dropping a game in round one or two. In order to play for the championship, Springdale or Shiloh would have to reel off 7 victories in a row with one 30 minute break after their 4th game. Lake Hamilton is in a similar situation except they only have to win 6 straight. If they can manage that, then they must win two games against the winner's bracket champion who would have only played 3 games.

The championship game tomorrow will be at 12:30 with the if necessary game being directly after at 1:00. We will post a final update as soon as we receive the results.

Thirty-two teams traveled to Hoover this weekend for the Select 7-on-7 National Championships. Four Arkansas teams were invited to this prestigous tournament. Springdale, Springdale Har-Ber, and Shiloh are regulars as they have competed in the tournament even before it became associated with the National High School Coaches Association and the National Championship. Lake Hamilton received an invitation after qualifying by winning the Shootout of the South in Little Rock, a regional qualifying tournament.

Lake Hamilton and Har-Ber finished the first day 3-1 in pool play. Shiloh was 2-2, and Springdale was 1-2-1.

Pool play began again today at 9 am. We will continue our coverage after this evenings pool play. For more information, the tournament website is http://select7on7.com.

Coach Chris Wood is taking his Wildcats on tour, and they are making Arkansas 7-on-7 football proud. Springdale Har-Ber went to Nashville last week to compete in the 24-team Music City Classic, a 7-on-7 tournament hosted by Vanderbilt. Har-Ber went 8-1 in pool play to capture the #1 seed and a bye in the tournament.

The Wildcats defeated 16th seeded Lavergne (TN) in the 2nd round, 36-6, then beat 9th seeded DeKalb County (TN), 29-15. They met up with 5th seed and eventual champion, David Lipscomb (TN) in the semifinals and suffered a one-point loss, 25-24. David Lipscomb would defeat Montgomery Bell Academy (TN) in the finals, 20-10.

Har-ber finished tied with Franklin (TN) for the best record overall at 10-2.

Har-ber is also competing in the National Select 7-on-7 Championships in Hoover this weekend. They were 3-1 in Thursday's pool play.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Gentry lost the first game of the day, but didn't lose again on their way to winning the 2nd Annual Field of Pride 7 on 7 Shootout held today in Gravette. Gentry lost their first game to Prairie Grove by one point, but went on to defeat Huntsville and Farmington handily in pool play. Gentry received the top seed from their pool with their 2-1 record and a tie-breaker advantage over 2-1 Farmington. They defeated Lincoln, 32-0, and Elkins, 19-6, to make it to the finals. They would then defeat Siloam Springs, 16-14, for the championship.

Gentry finished the day 5-1, and outscored opponents 125-39. The host team, Gravette Lions, went undefeated in pool play, but lost a one point decision to Siloam Springs in the semifinals, whom they had defeated earlier in the day. Gravette would finish the day 5-1 with the victory in the 3rd place game over Elkins. Gravette outscored opponents 156-66.

Congratulations to Gentry for their championship, and congratulations to Coach Bill Harrelson of Gravette, his volunteers, and his sponsors for another great event.

Friday, July 18, 2008

The schedule for the 2nd Annual Field of Pride 7-on-7 Shootout at Gravette High School has been set for Saturday, July 19. Pool begins at 9 am and concludes at noon. Pool play determines seeding for the tournament. The teams will have an hour break for lunch before the tournament begins. The tournament is an 8-team "Classic" format that guarantees three games for each team.

Pool Play Schedule

9:00

Gravette vs. Elkins -- Field 1

Gentry vs. Prairie Grove -- Field 2

9:30

Siloam Springs vs. Lincoln -- Field 1

Farmington vs. Huntsville -- Field 2

10:00

Elkins vs. Siloam Springs -- Field 1

Prairie Grove vs. Farmington -- Field 2

10:30

Lincoln vs. Gravette -- Field 1

Huntsville vs. Gentry -- Field 2

11:00

Elkins vs. Lincoln -- Field 1

Prairie Grove vs. Huntsville -- Field 2

11:30

Siloam Springs vs. Gravette -- Field 1

Farmington vs. Gentry -- Field 2

We hope to have scores soon after the Shootout is over. A big thank you goes out to Coach Bill Harrelson for all the great help.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Gravette Lions were one of the surprise teams last weekend with their performance in the VYPE 7-on-7 tournament. This weekend, they will be a favorite in their own tournament. Seven other teams will try to knock them off and earn their own tournament championship.

Siloam Springs leads the list of teams to challenge Gravette. The other teams will be Gentry, Prairie Grove, Huntsville, Farmington, Elkins, and Lincoln.

Coach Bill Harrelson said that "This is the second year. We had four Oklahoma teams and four Arkansas teams last year, but Oklahoma's dead period is this week."

The tournament will begin with pool play from 9 AM to noon on Saturday. There will be a lunch for every player provided by the Gravette Lions Booster club. At 1:00, play will resume with an 8-team tournament and will conclude at 4:00. Each team will play 3 games in the tournament as there will be a championship, 3rd place, 5th place, and 7th place game. This will provide each team with 6 games.

Although most tournaments charge an entry fee to cover the cost of t-shirts, officials, and other costs, and to help raise some money for their program, there is no entry fee for this tournament. Wal-Mart is sponsoring the event, providing every player with a t-shirt. As stated earlier, the Gravette Lions Booster Club will provide each player with a free meal. Although you will see these things at the larger tournaments, most smaller tournaments don't have these amenities.

The tournament will be the basic rules for 7-on-7 with 25-minute games with running clock. Normal scoring applies: 6 points for a touchdown, PAT is 1 from the 5 and 2 from the 10, and there are 2 points for an interception.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Hoxie Head Coach Tom Sears is bringing a 7-on-7 tournament to Northeast Arkansas this weekend. "This is our first year. We don't really have any tournaments in this part of the state, so we thought we would host one," Sears said.

East and Northeast Arkansas teams have traditionally been running teams so there has not been a lot of stress for coaches to play 7-on-7 during the summer. "We do okay. We run slot I, but we use it [7-on-7] to work on our pass defense and to work the kids out during the summer," Sears commented about his reasons for playing.

With the success of spread passing teams in other parts of the state, the wide-open offense is starting to leak into the Northeast. At least four of those spread teams will be featured in this weekends tournament in Jonesboro, Bald Knob, Greene County Tech, and Valley View. All total, there will be 14 teams making an appearance in Hoxie on Saturday.

The 14 teams will be divided into two pools. Beginning at 9:00 AM on Saturday, each team will play each member of their pool for a guarantee of 6 games. The teams with the best record in pool play meet in the championship game at 5:50. Sears said "Fountain Lake does a really good job with their tournament, so we are setting it up the same way."

One pool will feature Jonesboro, Harrisburg, Mountain Home, Bald Knob, Greene County Tech, Manilla, and Hoxie. The other pool will be made up of Nettleton, Cave City, Valley View, Paragould, Marion, Gosnell, and Fountain Lake.

Jonesboro should be one of the favorites as they run a spread offense and are the largest school competing. Fountain Lake is coming off an undefeated run in their tournament this past weekend, so they should make some noise.

There will be a few interesting things to watch in this weekend's event. Jonesboro, with new head coach Randy Coleman, will be running their new offense. GCT is in the same situation with new head coach Jeff Conaway. Hopefully, they can improve and learn from their experience at the VYPE Tournament last weekend. Valley View has a new head coach, but they will likely have few changes as offensive coordinator Shannon Sherman takes over as the head coach. Lastly, it will be interesting to see how Bald Knob plays as they enter their second year in the spread with the Tony Franklin system.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Although their record at the Shootout of the South may not reflect it (2-6), Fountain Lake proved they could play with the big boys as they gave several teams (Pulaski Academy, Fayetteville, Magnolia, and Rogers) some very tough games and defeated 7A Russellville. At their tournament on Saturday, Fountain Lake showed that THEY were the big boy in sweeping the tournament with wins over DeWitt, Lakeside JV, Jessieville, Magnet Cove, Gosnell, and Dierks before they defeated Perryville, 39 to 21, in the championship game.

The Perryville Mustangs also had an impressive day as they, too, swept through their pool in route to the championship game. Perryville had a good showing last year at the FCA State 7-0n-7 tournament, but they have a new head coach in former Carlisle head coach James Clayton. The Mustangs seem to be adjusting well to their new management as they rolled off seven straight wins.

The runner-up received a plaque for their efforts, and the champions received a plaque as well as a t-shirt for each player.

In a year in which at least two tournaments, Mustang Mountain and the FCA State Championship, took off due to the dead period and other factors, the Fountain Lake Tournament "was a success again this year. We had good sportsmanship and a great football atmosphere," said Fountain Lake assistant coach and tournament organizer Marc Davis. "We're looking forward to year 14 of our tournament next summer."

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Pulaski Academy put on an impressive show this weekend as they ran the table through pool play and the tournament winning all 11 games they played. Averaging 35 points per game, the Bruins scored on 46 of their 50 possessions. Quarterback Spencer Keith was given the Top Gun Award for best quarterback at the tournament as he threw 46 touchdowns and 1 interception. Wide Receiver Neal Barlow was named MVP of the tournament.

Wide receiver Greg Jackson of Sherman (TX) won the Sticky Hands Award for the top receiver, and Hot Springs' Lakeside junior Andre Wesley was named the Lock-Down Corner, awarded to the top defensive back.

The impressive teams from today's tournament includes 3rd seeded Sherman, who lost to PA in the finals and another out of state team that they defeated in the semis, 10th seeded Blue Valley (KS). Springdale was able to notch some impressive wins coming after being a 16 seed. They defeated 13th seeded West Fork, 4th seeded Little Rock Christian, and 5th seeded Lake Hamilton before losing to top seeded Pulaski Academy.

From this writer's perspective, the most pleasant surprise of the weekend has to be Hot Springs Lakeside, led by wide receiver Ben Crumpton and defensive back Andre Wesley. They entered the tournament as a 9 seed after posting a 5-2 record in pool play. They defeated 20th seeded Harrison and 8th seeded Rogers before giving Pulaski Academy their toughest game of the weekend in a 9-point loss. Lakeside would go on to defeat 2nd seeded Shiloh Christian in the consolation bracket before losing to Rogers.

Gravette, the 19th seed, had an impressive day as well as they defeated 12th seeded Siloam Springs in the first round before losing to Lake Hamilton. They would then defeat Little Rock Christian and 11th seeded Nashville before losing to 6th seeded Har-Ber, 20-14, in the consolation bracket.

Click the pictures below for all the results and scores from today's championship and consolation brackets.

This tournament was the largest in the state and took a lot of organization and volunteers. Tournament organizer Rhett Lashlee and his staff have to be commended on doing an excellent job keeping the tournament running smoothly, on-time, and with little conflict. Even heavy rains, which forced games to be played at multiple sights on Friday, couldn't mess up the efforts of VYPE's staff and volunteers. The inaugural event couldn't be called anything less than a great success.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Two teams finished with an unblemished record after the completion of pool play in today's action in Northwest Arkansas. Both Pulaski Academy and Shiloh Christian are 6-0 with one game each to play and are eyeing the all-important 1 and 2 seeds for tomorrow's tournament. In the 30-team tournament, the 1 and 2 seeds will receive byes in the 1st round and neither will play a seed higher than 27th in the second round.

As for biggest surprises, Hot Springs Lakeside has to be pleased with their performance as they finished the day 5-1, with their only loss coming to Rogers (4-1). who lost 29-28 to Harrison (2-4). Another pleasant surprise is the play of one of the out-of-state teams, Sherman, TX (5-1). Sherman's lone loss was to Har-Ber (5-1), whose lone loss was to Nashville (3-2-1).

There are several disappointments from today, but the three biggest has to be Bentonville (1-5), CAC (0-5-1), and Bryant (1-4). Bentonville squeaked out a 22-20 win over Arkansas Baptist (1-4-1) in the first game of the day, but their offense has struggled to put points on the board. CAC has made some plays with their defense, but they look out-of-sync on offense. Their lone bright spot for the day was a tie with their former 4A-7 rival, Nashville. Bryant played very well en route to winning the Hoffman Henry Summer Showdown; however, they have lost some close games. They lost by 2 points to Lake Hamilton (5-1) and Har-Ber JV (3-3) and by 9 points to Shiloh. Siloam Springs (4-2) gave them their only big loss with a 26-10 defeat of the Hornets.

Tomorrow will continue with one or two pool play games left for each team. There will be three rounds of games beginning at 9:25. The single-elimination championship tournament will begin at 1:00. Pool play results only determined seeding for the tournament. All teams still have an opportunity to take home the gold. First round losers will go home, but there will be a consolation bracket for teams who are able to make it out of the first round before losing. There is also a third-place game for the losers of the semifinals. The championship game, third-place game, and consolation finals will be at 5:00.

For a full listing of scores, visit the tournament's official website, VYPE Select 7-on-7.

Here are the current standings with the remaining opponent in parenthesis:

Due to 4.5 inches of rain in Fayetteville on Wednesday and Thursday, the schedule for the VYPE Select 7-on-7 had to be shuffled a bit but has gone off without a hitch for the first session. Please note the scores as well as the schedule changes from the VYPE website.

Realize that there are lots of games still to be played, but here are the standings after the first session.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Thirty teams will make an appearance in Northwest Arkansas this weekend for the largest 7-on-7 tournament in the state. The inaugural VYPE Select 7-on-7 Tournament is loaded with most of the best teams from around the state of Arkansas as well as one team each from Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.

Lake Hamilton looks to capture the Arkansas 7-on-7 Triple Crown, a term we're using to describe winning the Sonic Air Raid, Shootout of the South, and the VYPE Select -- Arkansas' three largest 7-on-7 tournaments. With the absence of the FCA State Championship, a tournament that the Wolves won to round out last summer, winning this tournament would leave little doubt of who is the best 7-on-7 team in Arkansas.

There will be several unknowns that leave us with questions as to how this tournament may play itself out. First, no one ever knows what to expect from teams from out of state. It would be hard to believe that Blue Valley (Stillwell, KS), Marshfield (MO), and Sherman (TX) would travel and cross state lines to simply prove they are a pushover, so I expect each of them to be competitive. Secondly, how will some bigger name teams that don't typically attend weekend tournaments fair in this highly competitive event. Specifically, Nashville, Bentonville, and Fort Smith Northside are three teams that we usually don't see out on the 7-on-7 circuit, but they will be doused heavily in it for the VYPE Select competition. The last major unknown will be how new program Rogers Heritage as well as how Greene County Tech, under new head coach Jeff Conaway will perform.

Although this tournament will answer several of those unknowns, here is what is not unknown. This will be a tough tournament with some very good "known" 7-on-7 teams. Fayetteville, Rogers, Har-Ber, and Springdale are 7A schools that won't have to travel far to strut their stuff and battle for a championship. Other teams we feel could take home gold are Bryant and four private schools: Pulaski Academy, Shiloh Christian, Central Arkansas Christian, and Little Rock Christian Academy.

Pool play will begin at 1:00 on Friday and should end just before 8:00 pm. The final pool play game for each team will be Saturday morning at 10:00 or 10:35. The tournament will begin at 1:00 with the finals slated for 4:30. All games will be played on the University of Arkansas campus at the Walker Pavilion Indoor Facility, Razorback Practice Fields, and the Intramural Fields.

Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Proceeds will be donated to the Ronald McDonald Youth Foundation in Northwest Arkansas.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Fountain Lake will be hosting Arkansas' longest running (13 years) annual 7-on-7 tournaments this Saturday, July 12. Although the VYPE Select 7-on-7 tournament is being held the same weekend, the Fountain Lake coaching staff was still able to round up a full tournament field made up of some very solid teams.

The tournament will feature 14 teams split into 2 pools of 7. Each team will play everyone in their pool for a guarantee of 6 games. The top 2 teams from each pool will advance to play in a 4-team tournament for the championship. Here are the pools:

It will be difficult for any team to run the table in either pool. In pool A, Ashdown may be the favorite because of their athleticism and new offense, but Hot Springs has shown that they can play with anybody as evidenced by their performance in last year's event. You can never count out Dierks because of their 7-on-7 State Championship two years ago. Perryville had some big wins last year at both the Mustang Mountain 7-on-7 and the FCA State 7-on-7 Tournament at War Memorial.

In pool B, we feel that Lakeside and Fountain Lake will be the favorites mainly because of so many of these teams being unfamiliar to us. In fact, to our knowledge most of these teams are run-oriented teams with the exception of Lakeside. This doesn't mean they are not successful in 7-on-7, we just are not able to predict how well they will do because of our lack of experience in watching them in 7-on-7's.